Joe Maring / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google’s next Pixel Drop could be hear on November 4, according to a new leak.
- The November Pixel Drop would introduce Pixel themes, starting with a Wicked one.
- Pixel VIPs may become a lot more useful through the arrival of priority notifications.
Every few months, Google delivers the latest big software features to its own smartphones by way of a Pixel Drop. A couple months back, the September Pixel Drop brought us all a healthy dose of Material 3 Expressive, and ever since we’ve had an eye on Google’s Android 16 QPR2 betas to learn what to expect from the next — presumably the December Pixel Drop. But now it sounds like this update could be hear before we know it, with a new leak outlining what to expect — and when.
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Over on Telegram, Mystic Leaks shares a detailed report on what they characterize as a leak of Google’s November Pixel Drop. And specifically, they say to expect this one to land in just one more week, on November 4.
For starters, we could be getting our very first Pixel theme pack. We’ve been tracking progress on this Android addition since earlier this year, with Google working on a new Theme Manager for quickly changing the look and feel of its platform by swapping out new wallpapers, colors, and icons. According to this leak, our first theme pack could take its inspiration from the upcoming “Wicked: For Good” theatrical film. With that set to premiere internationally on November 4, and in the US on November 21, perhaps that timing could be part of why we might get this Pixel drop earlier than planned.
First you’d enter a prompt to generate your initial image. After that, tapping the “Animate image” button at the bottom of the screen would bring up a new dialogue box asking you to describe exactly what you’d like to see your image do. After giving Gemini a few moments to work on that (the source suggests it may be Veo 3 or even the new Veo 3.1 behind this, but was unable to confirm), you’ll see your animation and be able to export the clip to share.
Finally, we’re hearing about a new feature for Pixel VIPs that might win over some of you hold-outs still wondering what it’s good for. With this Pixel Drop, your VIP contacts could now reach out to you more easily through priority notifications. We haven’t yet seen the details on exactly how these might work, but supposedly they’d only support specific apps, with Google Messages and WhatsApp mentioned as two.
That’s quite the teaser, and now we’re just looking forward to next week to see if this release actually happens as foretold.
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